MTNL also jumps into rate-cut fray
New Delhi, September 8
In a late reaction to the ongoing tariff war in the telecom industry, the state-owned MTNL today announced a whopping 50 per cent cut in the STD rates for both fixed and cellular services and 30 to 60 per cent cut in the local rates for its Trump and Dolphin services from October 2.

Honda’s Unicorn hits Indian mobike market
New Delhi, September 8
Riding high on its geared and automatic scooters, Honda Motor Cycles and Scooters India Ltd today forayed into the bike market with the launch of Unicorn and said it would pump in Rs 500 crore on the capacity expansion and product
development, including an entry-level motor cycle within the next three to five years.
In video (28k, 56k)
Alex Barros, a renowned MotoGP rider, at the launch of Honda’s Unicorn in New Delhi on Wednesday.
— Photo by Rajeev Tyagi

BBC Worldwide may go under hammer
London, September 8
The BBC has invited Time Warner, Walt Disney and Berteismann to discuss possible bids for BBC Worldwide, the corporation’s commercial sales and publishing arm.

Satyam logs in at Melbourne
Sydney, September 8
Melbourne is fast becoming the information technology hub of Australia and the latest entrant is Satyam Computer Services Limited, which has opened its largest global development centre outside India.

Qantas and Singapore Airlines jets manoeuvre at Sydney Airport on Wednesday after Qantas confirmed that the British Airways plans to sell its 18.25 per cent stake in Australia’s flag-carrier in the next two days to cut debt and take advantage of future consolidation in Europe.
— AP/PTI

Private banks growing fast
New Delhi, September 8
Private banks are growing aggressively at 62 per cent to eat into the over Rs 1,00,000-crore retail business market that has so far been dominated by PSU banks.

FM meets bankers today
New Delhi, September 8
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram will hold a meeting to review the situation on the farm credit front with bankers tomorrow.

Contract for casual workers mooted
Chandigarh, September 8
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has recommended a two-year employment contract for casual workers employed in industries in Punjab. This would not only benefit the industry, but also employees as they would get job security as also associated benefits like provident fund and allied facilities.

Welcom ties up with Swaasa
Chandigarh, September 8
With a view to giving a fillip to the hospitality and tourism industry in the region, Welcom Heritage, a heritage hotel group, has forayed in Punjab by tying up with Ranjit’s Swaasa in Amritsar thereby adding yet another historical heritage property to its chain. Earlier, the group tied-up with Sheikhpura Kothi at Hansi in Haryana this year in April.

Gulf offers market for Indian drugs
New Delhi, September 8
Six nations in the Gulf with a population of over 33 million are all set to emerge as a new market for the Indian drug companies. The Gulf market is currently dominated by European and US suppliers, states a survey conducted by
Ficci.

New Delhi, September 8
In a late reaction to the ongoing tariff war in the telecom industry, the state-owned MTNL today announced a whopping 50 per cent cut in the STD rates for both fixed and cellular services and 30 to 60 per cent cut in the local rates for its Trump and Dolphin services from October 2.

MTNL, which provides services in Mumbai and Delhi only, also announced an increase in pulse duration from 60 seconds to 90 seconds for landline calls to mobile phones, a 50 per cent reduction in the present tariff.

The company will charge a flat rate of 2.40 a minute for STD calls both on its cellular and fixed line networks against the existing Rs 2.40.

The local charge on the company’s own cellular network in prepaid service — Trump — will be lowered by around 60 per cent from 2.10 a minute to Rs 0.90, while for other cellular networks, the new tariff will be Rs 1.50 per minute against Rs 2.10.

The new rate for post-paid service — Dolphin — will be Rs 0.80 a minute against the present Rs 1.90, a reduction of more than 50 per cent. The tariff for the calls to the other networks will be down to Rs 1.20 per minute to Rs 1.90, a cut of around 33 per cent.

A call from Trump to fixed or WLL networks will be charged at Rs 1.50 per minute against the current Rs 2.60 and from Dolphin at Rs 1.20 against Rs 1.90.

MTNL admitted that limitation of network capacity has till now been a constraint to satisfying demand for its mobile services. The company, however, claimed that with the commissioning of expanded capacity, it would be able to satisfy its customers with both enhanced capacity and improved services and quality.

The telecom industry recently witnessed a tariff reduction by all major companies, triggered by Reliance Infocomm. Another state-owned company BSNL, which provides services across the country except Mumbai and Delhi, had announced offering cellular service at 90 paise a minute, as it slashed tariff for its pre-paid subscribers by a whopping 60 per cent. BSNL had also restructured tariff for other subscribers, including post-paid subscribers and slashed STD rates by 33 per cent.
— UNI

New Delhi, September 8
Riding high on its geared and automatic scooters, Honda Motor Cycles and Scooters India Ltd (HMSI) today forayed into the bike market with the launch of Unicorn and said it would pump in Rs 500 crore on the capacity expansion and product development, including an entry-level motor cycle within the next three to five years.

Priced at Rs 50,043 (ex-showroom, Delhi), the 150-cc Unicorn sport has a four-stroke 13.3 bhp engine with five gears and a mono-suspension shock absorber, which are normally seen in race bikes.

Available in five colours, the Unicorn, which will be competing with Bajaj’s super-seller Pulsar, has a constant vacuum
carburetor to ensure mileage in excess of 60 km per litre and touches 0-60 km per hour in five seconds.

“We expect to sell 56,000 units of Unicorn in this business year to March 2005 and to gain 50 per cent market share over the next three to five years,” HMSI COO and MD Yukihiro Aoshima told newspersons here.

Mr Aoshima said HMSI, which has invested Rs 500 crore till date since its entry in India in 1999, would pump another Rs 500 crore to increase its production capacity to 10.2 lakh units in 2006-07 from the present 6 lakh.

The Unicorn will be launched in the south and the east on October 7 and in the rest of India on October 13. Honda also owns a 26 per cent stake in Hero Honda Motors Ltd, which has a dominating 55 per cent share of India’s nearly 5 million units-a-year motor cycle market.
— UNI

London, September 8
The BBC has invited Time Warner, Walt Disney and Berteismann to discuss possible bids for BBC Worldwide, the corporation’s commercial sales and publishing arm.

BBC executives believe the Worldwide division, which generated free cash-flow of £141 million in 12 months to March 31, could be worth up to £ 2 billion, The Financial Times reported today.

Executives from the three of the largest world media groups are to hold talks with the BBC in the coming weeks over assets, including the BBC America and BBC Prime channels, along with 26 magazine titles, merchandising operations and the broadcaster’s overseas programme sale unit.

The publicly-funded UK broadcaster is considering the move as part of an internal review, timed to coincide with a government study of the BBC’s funding and public service remit.

The internal review followed an inquiry into a BBC report, which alleged the Tony Blair government had “sexed up” pre-war intelligence on Iraq’s weapon of mass destruction.

According to the report, Mr John Smith, the BBC’s chief operating officer and finance director, yesterday met the top 100 executives of Worldwide, which employs 2,200 persons to discuss options.
— PTI

Sydney, September 8
Melbourne is fast becoming the information technology hub of Australia and the latest entrant is Satyam Computer Services Limited, which has opened its largest global development centre outside India.

Nasdaq-listed Indian software and services giant Infosys already has a multi-million dollar worth Global Development Centre in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, which is to Australia what Silicon Valley is to US or Bangalore to India.

The 300-seat state-of-the-art centre would position Victoria as a hub for Satyam’s Asia-Pacific projects, Victoria’s Minister for Information and Communication Technology Marsha Thomson said.

The global development centre will perform software development work for local and international Satyam customers and plans are already underway to undertake work for clients in the Asia-Pacific including Japan here in Australia.

“Companies like Satyam Computer Services are choosing Victoria over other international locations because of our key strengths in ICT skills development. We are Australia’s leading producer of IT and computing graduates and in cutting edge ICT research and development,” she added.

Ms Thomson said investments like the one by Satyam play an important part in internationalising the local ICT industry and providing access to cutting-edge technologies.
— PTI

In the home loans category, PSU banks managed a growth of 50.44 per cent at over Rs 40,000 crore, but private banks outsmarted them with a 58 per cent growth at Rs 3,437 crore.

The significant growth of private banks can be attributed to aggressive marketing strategies and innovative products.

In consumer durable loans, the private banks registered a marginal growth of 7.72 per cent at Rs 291 crore during 2003, while the PSU banks witnessed a nearly 15 per cent drop in credit at Rs 1,838 crore, they said.

Private banks recorded a significant rise in growth in the rest of the personal loan category at 67 per cent, while the PSU banks witnessed 26.84 per cent.
— PTI

New Delhi, September 8
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram will hold a meeting to review the situation on the farm credit front with bankers tomorrow.

The meeting assumes significance as the Centre has set a target of 30 per cent growth rate in the quantum of institutional lending to the cash-starved agriculture sector.

The Finance Minister had announced in June this year that farm credit will be increased to the tune of Rs 1,04,500 crore during the current fiscal year and had set a target of increasing the credit flow by about 100 per cent in three years’ time.

During the last fiscal year (2003-04) only a handful of the public sector banks and a couple of private sector banks were able to achieve the target of 18 per cent for priority sector lending stipulated by the Reserve Bank India.

Chandigarh, September 8
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has recommended a two-year employment contract for casual workers employed in industries in Punjab. This would not only benefit the industry, but also employees as they would get job security as also associated benefits like provident fund and allied facilities.

Stating this here today, the Chairman of CII’s northern region, Mr Rakesh Bharti Mittal, said the matter was discussed with the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh today. He also discussed with the Chief Minister the development of infrastructure in the state.

He said that while the state of national highways passing through Punjab was good, state highways and arteries were a problematic area. He said he has also suggested to the Chief Minister that the Amritsar airport be upgraded and strengthened to handle international cargo traffic, particularly agricultural products.

Mr Mittal said an important issue is the rationalisation of the tax structure and the draft policy for implementation of value-added tax (VAT) in Punjab would be readied by the state government next month. He, however, was against the introduction of any special package for the industry in Punjab, maintaining that such steps affect competitiveness and negate growth.

Mr Mittal also met the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, and discussed various issues pertaining to the state with him. Need for continual improvement in the power sector reforms, labour reforms, simplification of tax structure and inadequate infrastructure were some of the issues discussed.

Chandigarh, September 8
With a view to giving a fillip to the hospitality and tourism industry in the region, Welcom Heritage, a heritage hotel group, has forayed in Punjab by tying up with Ranjit’s Swaasa in Amritsar thereby adding yet another historical heritage property to its chain. Earlier, the group tied-up with Sheikhpura Kothi at Hansi in Haryana this year in April.

Giving this information at a press conference here, the CEO of Ranjit Swaasa’s, Ms Rama Mehra, said that the resort, sprawled over 3,500 square yards, also has a spa that will offer personalised health care and hospitality to the visitors.

The spa at the resort will offers a variety of massage, yoga lessons and therapies, packaged in the range of Rs 800 and Rs 2000.

Talking about her future plans, Ms Mehra said going by the response to this rather new concept, she plans to have franchises in the East Coast of America, Dubai, besides setting up one at Varanasi in India.

New Delhi, September 8
Six nations in the Gulf with a population of over 33 million are all set to emerge as a new market for the Indian drug companies. The Gulf market is currently dominated by European and US suppliers, states a survey conducted by Ficci.

Healthcare is one of the leading sectors for exports to and investment in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. There is an urgent need to conduct a product-specific survey in these markets for exports, said the Ficci survey on India’s export potential of pharmaceutical products in West Asia.

The GCC countries are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman. In 2002-03, the share of India’s exports of drugs and pharmaceuticals to these countries was Rs 264 crore which is just 2.21 per cent of the country’s total global exports in this sector.

The population of the six-nation GCC grew by nearly nine million over the past decade to reach around 31 million by 2000-end, holding tremendous potential for the healthcare sector. The GCC countries have also initiated measures for economic liberalisation and offer opportunities for Indian investors.

Ficci said the market in Kuwait for medical equipment and supplies is estimated at $ 100 million. The government sector issued 14 licences by the end of 2003 for private investors to open new hospitals and clinics. This could create good opportunity for Indian medical equipment companies.

The exports of Indian pharmaceutical products to the UAE also have scope for a significant increase with changes in the UAE health legislation, it said.

Indian drugs and pharmaceutical companies should concentrate on the market for generics, which has vast untapped potential.

Ficci said the government and its agencies should prevail upon GCC countries to accept ayurvedic and herbal drug registration. “FDA approval to ayurvedic and herbal registration in individual GCC states will reduce the entry barrier which is high due to custom duty structure,” the survey said.

Further, Indian companies could give a thrust on selling specific medicines in specific market.

The industry chamber said as some of these countries purchase drugs, medicines and pharmaceutical products through a global tender, Indian companies must keep an eye on the tenders.

Ficci has further suggested that buyer-seller meets in the GCC countries in the above sector should be organised to identify opportunities for trade, besides strengthening marketing infrastructure.

HPCL awardedChandigarh, September 8
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited has received the best award under the category of ‘Best Work Place Practices’ from the Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility, Philippines. HPCL was adjudged the best among 110 companies from 15 Asian countries that had submitted their applications for the award.
— TNS

AITUC protestSangrur, September 8
A protest march, led by All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) general secretary (Punjab unit) Bant Singh Brar, was held here today. The protestors, who were demanding the reinstatement of over 400 workers of Oswal Furane Limited, Bhasor, staged a rally and dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office. Mr Jagtar Singh Dhuri, president of the factory’s workers union, said the agitation had entered its 134th day today.
— TNS

PNB in ShanghaiChandigarh, September 8
Punjab National Bank (PNB) has opened a representative office in Shanghai, China. The bank’s Shanghai office was inaugurated by Mr S.S. Kohli, CMD, PNB. The office will act as a single window for providing necessary guidance to business community in China.
— TNS

Aquaplast IndNew Delhi, September 8
Aquaplast Industries (P) Limited — the manufacturer of Sheetal brand of water tanks —has launched a new promotional campaign as a part of the overall brand positioning strategy, a release said.
— TNS

Serena SoftwareBangalore, September 8
US-based Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) company Serena Software today announced the launch of its Indian operations following the acquisition of rival Merant Software. Serena, which acquired Merant in May this year, would commence its India operations focussed on sales and support functions.
— UNI

Birla Sun LifeMumbai, September 8
Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company has launched its dynamic bond fund, which will invest in debt and money market instruments. The initial public offer opens on September 10 and closes on September 24, Birla Sun Life AMC chief executive S V Prasad told reporters here today.
— PTI